Re: IC: Ad Astra II
Letting Ayamba finish, Glass responds to his challenges:
"From the first, you questioned my right to be Captain and, until recently, my right was with the duties and responsibilities assigned by Trident. Even so, you grumbled about my ability and skill to be a Captain, for a voyage that none of us had any idea what it entailed. My judgement to approach Fred in the beginning was based on a couple of salient facts. One, that there was almost no crew on his ship and we apparently outnumbered what we could see three-fold, and two, approaching an occupied lone ship in space was the best bet for us to start to learn about the environment we had been paid to travel. There was very little in the way of luck involved as it was a logical choice to approach."
"Had Fred's ship shown any signs of aggression, we were at a distinct disadvantage right from the start. It was faster, more armed, bigger and could have overtaken and overwhelmed with little effort. That was a given considering our meager craft at the time. By observing their ship at rest and seeing it's minor crew compliment, it was a simple choice to approach and act in a friendly manner. Prevailing upon a stranger's charity and showing ourselves novices at space travel was the best course once the lack of threat was determined."
"With the derelict, I took a different approach, sending a scout out to test the waters - so to speak- and that again proved effective as my familiar drew out the only threat there, which we handled swiftly although our tactics were uncoordinated. If we have approached the ship closer, we could have been easily surprised by those beasts, or perhaps something worse could have been on the ship, and they could have crossed any short distance and boarded us, had I not stood us off a goodly distance. Again, not luck but tactical caution. If the ship had contained anything space-capable other than the two scavvers, we could have simply flown away out of gravity range and gone to fast travel."
"Finally, with the wizard and his escort, that was an unexpected response, but I again planned for possible exits. I was worried that our fly-by of London was going to cause issues, although I didn't expect such a fast response. I did say aboard that we should be ready to leave at any point and didn't want any crew wandering from the ship until we made contact with Lyra's family. Where is she, anyways? I did not anticipate that her family was unknown, and that our presence would be judged an invasion rather than peaceful, but even so I had prepared. By being the only one to greet the party, I was more than capable of making my escape to the ship, and was the only one put at direct risk during the entire time. You all remained on board and - at the worst - could have flown off and left me as needed for your own safety. As soon as the wizard demanded you all unload, I knew there was no salvaging the situation and made my exit. The fact that this particular wizard was of such great skill and power as to hit us from great distance was also not anticipated, but we did deal with it as we had to. The second storm of ice took me by surprise as I rushed to heal anyone hurt from the first. I had hoped we would have been out of range by that point."
"I didn't put any of my reasoning or plans to the test or vote, because up until that point you all seemed to have accepted my given position and we're fine with our organization continuing as in. Perhaps you forgot that our goals are not piracy and attack, but trade and commerce with whomever is willing? All that being said, what would you have done different Ayamba? What particular skill or ability would have made you and the crew so much safer than my own actions, that you feel secure to challenge my ability, even without the backing of Trident? I don't disagree that we are no longer the same structure and authourity we were before, but if you wish to be Captain, maybe you should prove yourself capable before you shake up what already works."
"If you feel the need to replace me in my role, by all means you can take a vote and choose a new leader, but don't expect me to just step aside because I didn't tell you my decisions." With that, Glass finds a nearby rail or secured barrel and sits down, looking at the rest of the crew expectantly.